COMPUTER CLASSIFICATION
Modern computers are classified as follow:
(1) Palmtop computer, also known as palm PCs or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).
(2) Notebook computer, also known as laptop computer. Some trade names of notebook computer are: IBM’s Thinkpad 570, Compaq’s Armada – E700, M700, M300 servies, H.P.’s Omnibook, Siemen’s Scenic mobile 750 AGB (high-end multimedia notebook), Apply’s ibook, etc.
(3) Desktop Computers
(4) Workstations
(5) Servers
(6) Super Computers
Palmtop Computer: These are the smallest computer available. They can be held in palm and hence, they are called palmtop computers. They can easily be kept in a shirt pocket. They are used for tracking appointment, maintaining lists, jotting notes, etc. They are tiny keyboard and have small disk memory. They can be connected to wireless network. Some palmtop use touch screen. Palmtops also accept handwritten inputs using an electronic pen which can be used to write on the palmtop screen. The system has to be trained on the user’s handwriting before it can be used. Some palmtops use Microsoft’s WINDOWS-CE is a stripped-down version of Microsoft WINDOWS.
Notebook computer (Laptop computers): These are portable computers. They contain 32-bit CPU, hard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROM drive, modem and flat LCD screen. Colour displays are available. They consume less power and use batteries for their operation. They are used for word processing and spreadsheet computing while a person is travelling. They can be connected to computer net-work. They generally are WINDOWS operating system. Hard disk up to 10GB, RAM up to 60MB, multimedia system, etc. Are available on a notebook.
Desktop Computers: These are single-user personal computers and can be placed on a desk and hence, they are called desktop. They use latest 32-bit powerful processors like Pentium 111, Celeron, Power PC 750, K6-3, K7, etc. The hard disk capacity is 8MB or more and RAM capacity 32MB or more. They use 3.5 inch floppy disk. Optical disk drive and 5.25 inch floppy disk drive are optional. Magnetic tape, 100MB or 250MB ZIP drive can be used as backup memory. Operating systems used are: WINDOWS-95, WINDOWS-98, OS/2, etc.
Workstations: Workstations are more powerful computers than desktop computers. They are suitable for numeric and graphic intensive applications. They use large size colour video display (19 inch monitor). The capacities of their hard disk and RAM are more than those of desktop computers. Operating System used are: UNIX, SUN’s Solaris, H.P.’s HP-UX, OS-8, etc. Another definition of a workstation is “when a computer is connected to a network, it becomes a node on the network and referred to as a workstation”.
Servers: These are powerful computers. A number of PCs and terminals can be connected to servers. Servers are provided with large disk and RAM capacity. In a low-end server only one microprocessor is used to act as a CPU. On the other hand in a high-end server, a number of microprocessor are provided in the CPU. Microprocessors in a multiprocessor CPU operate in parallel. The user working on a PC connected to a server, makes simple computation on his own PC, but for more complex computation he can connect his PC to the server through the LAN. The computer connected to the server through a network is called client. The aforesaid type of computing is known as client-server computing.
Super Computers: These are the most powerful computers. They are used for every complex computation work. They are vector processors. Intensive parallelism is used in supercomputers. A number of RISC microprocessors are used in the CPU of a supercomputer. Supercomputers are used for weather forecasting, in aerodynamics, seismology; atomic, plasma and nuclear analysis; for weapons research and development, sending rockets into space, etc. In some applications in aerodynamics and nuclear physics, as many as 1013 arithmetic operations are needed for a single problem. This may take a number of hours of computing time on supercomputer. Hence, there is a constant demand to increase the power of supercomputer. Examples of supercomputer are: Cray-1 (1976), Cray-2 (1985), Cray X-MP (1983), Cray Y-MP (1988), Cray Y-MP/C -90 (1991), Cray T3D (1993), NEC SX-X/44 (1991), Fujitsu VP 2600/10 (1991), Hitachi 820/80 (1987), C-DEC’s PARAM, etc.
C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) has developed PARAM series of supercomputers. Other Indian supercomputers are: C-Dot’s (Centre for Development of Telemetries ) Chips-152, National Aeronautical laboratories’s Flosolver Mark-3, and Bhadh Atomic Centre’s Anupam.
Earlier Classification: Earlier, computers were classified as microcomputers, minicomputers, mainframe (or large) computer and supercomputers. This classification is no large used. Microcomputers are low-cost small computers. They include portable computers, personal computers i.e. PCs (Single-user desktop computer), computers for dedicated applications like industrial control, instrumentation, appliance control etc. Minicomputers are more powerful multiuser computers. They contain more RAM and hard disk capacity compared to microcomputers. High-end minicomputers contain more than one microprocessor in their CPU. Large or mainframe computer are more powerful than minicomputers. They use very large capacity of RAM and hard disk. They use UNIX and other multiuser operating system, Examples of mainframe computers are: IBM’s ES-9000, CDC cyber-200V etc. Supercomputers have already been described in the new classification.
Computer Pen: It is a computer housed within a pen. It can function as a diary, alarm, note taker and can receive E-mail and pager message. It links to a painter, mobile phone, modem or PC allowing handwritten notes to be transmitted. It has been developed by BI, a research laboratory in U.K. The prototype is called Smart Quill. Smart Quill can even translate invisible writing in the air.
(1) Palmtop computer, also known as palm PCs or PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).
(2) Notebook computer, also known as laptop computer. Some trade names of notebook computer are: IBM’s Thinkpad 570, Compaq’s Armada – E700, M700, M300 servies, H.P.’s Omnibook, Siemen’s Scenic mobile 750 AGB (high-end multimedia notebook), Apply’s ibook, etc.
(3) Desktop Computers
(4) Workstations
(5) Servers
(6) Super Computers
Palmtop Computer: These are the smallest computer available. They can be held in palm and hence, they are called palmtop computers. They can easily be kept in a shirt pocket. They are used for tracking appointment, maintaining lists, jotting notes, etc. They are tiny keyboard and have small disk memory. They can be connected to wireless network. Some palmtop use touch screen. Palmtops also accept handwritten inputs using an electronic pen which can be used to write on the palmtop screen. The system has to be trained on the user’s handwriting before it can be used. Some palmtops use Microsoft’s WINDOWS-CE is a stripped-down version of Microsoft WINDOWS.
Notebook computer (Laptop computers): These are portable computers. They contain 32-bit CPU, hard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROM drive, modem and flat LCD screen. Colour displays are available. They consume less power and use batteries for their operation. They are used for word processing and spreadsheet computing while a person is travelling. They can be connected to computer net-work. They generally are WINDOWS operating system. Hard disk up to 10GB, RAM up to 60MB, multimedia system, etc. Are available on a notebook.
Desktop Computers: These are single-user personal computers and can be placed on a desk and hence, they are called desktop. They use latest 32-bit powerful processors like Pentium 111, Celeron, Power PC 750, K6-3, K7, etc. The hard disk capacity is 8MB or more and RAM capacity 32MB or more. They use 3.5 inch floppy disk. Optical disk drive and 5.25 inch floppy disk drive are optional. Magnetic tape, 100MB or 250MB ZIP drive can be used as backup memory. Operating systems used are: WINDOWS-95, WINDOWS-98, OS/2, etc.
Workstations: Workstations are more powerful computers than desktop computers. They are suitable for numeric and graphic intensive applications. They use large size colour video display (19 inch monitor). The capacities of their hard disk and RAM are more than those of desktop computers. Operating System used are: UNIX, SUN’s Solaris, H.P.’s HP-UX, OS-8, etc. Another definition of a workstation is “when a computer is connected to a network, it becomes a node on the network and referred to as a workstation”.
Servers: These are powerful computers. A number of PCs and terminals can be connected to servers. Servers are provided with large disk and RAM capacity. In a low-end server only one microprocessor is used to act as a CPU. On the other hand in a high-end server, a number of microprocessor are provided in the CPU. Microprocessors in a multiprocessor CPU operate in parallel. The user working on a PC connected to a server, makes simple computation on his own PC, but for more complex computation he can connect his PC to the server through the LAN. The computer connected to the server through a network is called client. The aforesaid type of computing is known as client-server computing.
Super Computers: These are the most powerful computers. They are used for every complex computation work. They are vector processors. Intensive parallelism is used in supercomputers. A number of RISC microprocessors are used in the CPU of a supercomputer. Supercomputers are used for weather forecasting, in aerodynamics, seismology; atomic, plasma and nuclear analysis; for weapons research and development, sending rockets into space, etc. In some applications in aerodynamics and nuclear physics, as many as 1013 arithmetic operations are needed for a single problem. This may take a number of hours of computing time on supercomputer. Hence, there is a constant demand to increase the power of supercomputer. Examples of supercomputer are: Cray-1 (1976), Cray-2 (1985), Cray X-MP (1983), Cray Y-MP (1988), Cray Y-MP/C -90 (1991), Cray T3D (1993), NEC SX-X/44 (1991), Fujitsu VP 2600/10 (1991), Hitachi 820/80 (1987), C-DEC’s PARAM, etc.
C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) has developed PARAM series of supercomputers. Other Indian supercomputers are: C-Dot’s (Centre for Development of Telemetries ) Chips-152, National Aeronautical laboratories’s Flosolver Mark-3, and Bhadh Atomic Centre’s Anupam.
Earlier Classification: Earlier, computers were classified as microcomputers, minicomputers, mainframe (or large) computer and supercomputers. This classification is no large used. Microcomputers are low-cost small computers. They include portable computers, personal computers i.e. PCs (Single-user desktop computer), computers for dedicated applications like industrial control, instrumentation, appliance control etc. Minicomputers are more powerful multiuser computers. They contain more RAM and hard disk capacity compared to microcomputers. High-end minicomputers contain more than one microprocessor in their CPU. Large or mainframe computer are more powerful than minicomputers. They use very large capacity of RAM and hard disk. They use UNIX and other multiuser operating system, Examples of mainframe computers are: IBM’s ES-9000, CDC cyber-200V etc. Supercomputers have already been described in the new classification.
Computer Pen: It is a computer housed within a pen. It can function as a diary, alarm, note taker and can receive E-mail and pager message. It links to a painter, mobile phone, modem or PC allowing handwritten notes to be transmitted. It has been developed by BI, a research laboratory in U.K. The prototype is called Smart Quill. Smart Quill can even translate invisible writing in the air.
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